Sixth Street Sundries

Emily Midgett

color drenched

The Key To My Heart with Simon Says Stamp!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I have a vibrant red card today perfect for a valentine for a special someone! I have mentioned before that I sometimes find it difficult to use red outside of holiday crafting, preferring instead a more jewel-toned or pastel color palette, but the Lipstick Red cardstock from Simon Says Stamp is absolutely lush and so vibrant that I couldn’t resist pairing it with the new Always & Forever stamp set. I love using colored pencils with colored cardstock to truly saturate the card with vibrancy, “drenching” it with vivid color. Let’s get started on the details for my project!

*I have gathered links to all of the products used at the bottom of the post for your convenience, using affiliate links. Thank you for shopping with my links! I truly appreciate your support for my work!*

To begin my project, I stamped several images from the Always & Forever stamp set onto Lipstick Red cardstock using Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink, then sprinkled white embossing powder over the top to create super crisp lines on the vibrant red cardstock. I used my colored pencils to add shadows and details to the images, using plenty of white colored pencil to create smooth blending on the images. I used the coordinating dies to die cut the finished colored images; I just love how beautifully detailed and intricate the die cuts are!

After I had finished coloring the images, I decided to help those colored die cuts stand out a bit while still keeping true to my red color drenching, so I die cut the scalloped heart using some Ruby Red cardstock from Altenew. This shade of red is just slightly darker and a bit more muted than the Lipstick Red, beautifully accenting the vibrant cherry red! I layered the scalloped heart in the center of my Lipstick Red A2 card front, adhering it with some thin foam adhesive squares.

Before I began arranging the colored die cuts on my scalloped heart, I heat embossed a sentiment from the Always & Forever stamp set onto some more Lipstick Red cardstock using white pigment ink and white embossing powder. I die cut the large sentiment piece with it’s coordinating die (don’t you love when you can cut such detailed sentiments so quickly and easily?) and then began arranging all of the different die cut pieces on the card front. For a final sparkling touch, I added a few Bubblegum Pawsitively Dazzling Gems!

Well, that’s all for my project today! Color drenching is one of my most favorite techniques, and I hope you enjoyed reading my process. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!

Color Drenched Ruby Red Holiday Cards with Simon Says Stamp!

This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!

Hi friends! I have some more color-drenched projects to share with you today featuring some new and old goodies from Simon Says Stamp. The Simon-branded STAMPtember release from the beginning of the month featured some absolutely beautiful new 3D Embossing Folders. The amount of detail that you can achieve with Simon’s 3D embossing folders is absolutely spectacular, and I love pairing them with shining foil mirror cardstock. The coating on the foil cardstock helps make the details that much crisper and more intense. I created a pair of color-drenched ruby red cards today featuring the new Poinsettia Sprays Embossing Folder and the incredibly versatile Thread Plaid embossing folder (which is currently out of stock, but you can always sign up to be notified when it is back in stock!).

Whenever I am working with a color-drenched color palette, my goal is to add as many different textures to the card front as possible. To accomplish this, I went to my cardstock stash and pulled several different types of red cardstock: Crimson glitter cardstock, Schoolhouse Red cardstock, and luxurious Firestone Red mirror cardstock from Tonic. The combination of these three unique cardstocks layered together creates multiple elements of texture, the contrast of which helps keep the differentiation between the different layers.

For my first project, I die cut a large Nested Domed Arches die cut using the Firestone Red mirror cardstock, then ran it through my die cutting machine using the new Poinsettia Sprays Embossing Folder, embossing some gorgeous pattern and texture into the shining cardstock. I also die cut some Nested Domed Arches Frames from Crimson glitter cardstock and layered a glittery frame that was slightly smaller than the embossed mirror panel. The combination of the two different textures in the same vibrant red is so elegant!

I love the generously-sized sentiments in the new Big Holiday Words stamp and die set, so I decided to use that as my focal point for the card by embossing the “joyful greetings” sentiment onto some Schoolhouse Red cardstock with white embossing powder so that it would pop from the red background beautifully! The botanical embossed background lent itself beautifully to some foliage die cuts, so I accented the sentiment with some Berry Stems dies, cut from more Lipstick Red cardstock and accented with Cherry Pawsitively Dazzling Gems. I popped up the sentiment die cut with some foam adhesive and tucked the berry sprigs behind it, accenting everything with a festive bow tied using Vivant Bordeaux Narrow Ribbon. So festive and intense!

For my second project, I used the same Firestone Red mirror cardstock to emboss the Thread Plaid embossing folder, creating lovely, festive texture with the coated mirror cardstock. I repeated the framed theme by die cutting the A2 Nesting Frames dies from more Crimson glitter cardstock, adhering a slightly smaller frame to the embossed mirror panel.

I wanted to put several of the sentiments from Big Holiday Words to use, so I heat embossed “joy, hope, peace” and “sending love & light” onto more Schoolhouse Red cardstock using white embossing powder and die cut them with the coordinating dies. I arranged them from smallest to largest, creating a Christmas tree shape and accenting the images with Cherry Pawsitively Dazzling Gems for added sparkle. Finally, I created a “tree topper” with a fluffy bow tied with Vivant Warm Red Satin Ribbon. These Vivant ribbons are so luxurious!

Well, that’s all for my projects today! I am obsessed with color drenching these days. There’s something so luxurious and elegant about these monochromatic projects, especially for Christmas. I encourage you to give it a try! Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!